Tuesday, 16 June 2015

Help and hassle at Hassal Green

We remember well the trepidation with which we first arrived at the Harecastle tunnel. Now here we are handing out advice to new first-timers. I think the roof seems higher and the channel wider than it was a few years ago. We were part of the first convoy going north, which had the effect of sending us down the Cheshire locks (25 of them) in the same sequence. Many of these are twin locks, side by side, and this meant we were sometimes able to give help to, and sometimes receive it from, the crew going down the twin – hire boats NB Phoebe and NB Upland Goose. The locks at Hassal Green were the worst – both paddles and gates horribly stiff.

But only a short post tonight. We've tied up in Wheelock, and there's only a minimal mobile signal – not enough for photos, and only just enough to get this posted befo